2012

It's difficult at this time of year not to spend time reflecting on the last 12 months and thinking of what's in store for the year ahead.

With this in mind it's time for Cake of the Year 2012! Some of you may remeber I did this last year. I really enjoyed looking back at the cakes and sharing some stories so I think this will become a tradition in the years to come.

Of course, this year I look back on cakes that I have made for my business(!), a business that did not exist 12 months ago but was very much a dream for the year. It's been so much fun setting up and meeting so many lovely people who have helped and supported along the way. Thank you so so much to everyone who has been involved.

So, on to the cakes. I've narrowed it down to my top three...

In third place is a cake I made recently for my lovely sister and her fiance. Shaun proposed to Katie in April this year and to celebrate their engagement they held a humanist relationship blessing with a handfasting ceremony.

A handfasting ceremony involves the couples hands being tied together with ribbon and I used this as inspiration for the design on the side of the cake. Katie liked the hearts design that has been featured on a few cakes I've done in the past so I decided to use it on the top of the cake this time. I felt that the text on the cake needed to be more natural for this design so rather than using cutters I piped the writing.

This cake was also a gluten free cake so that all members of the family were able to enjoy a slice!

Hopefully I passed the test and will get to make their wedding cake in the future :-)

The cake in this year's second place spot is a cake that I made for Free Cakes For Kids Wales. 2012 has seen the start of the Newport and Torfaen group and I am stupidly proud of what we have all achieved this year. I can not thank the ladies involved enough for their help and support and I am looking forward to seeing where 2013 takes us. If you would ike to know more about this amazing organisation please visit Free Cakes Wales

The cake was for a girl turning 18 who loves chocolate cake and rocket ice lollies. I immediately knew what I wanted to do for this one and you can read the full story here. I really enjoy carving cakes and was pleased with the finish of this one. I'd love to do more carved cakes in 2013!

And on to the winner...
My favourite cake of 2012...
It just had to be...
A cake that tells a life story!

I've blogged about this cake before here. The cake took a lot of time to create as there were so many elements but it really captured all of the different parts of Mike's life. It was lovely to meet Mike's wife and plan this as a huge surprise for him! For me, it was a test of many techniques that I have learnt since starting cake decorating and really showed how my skills have developed.

So that's my round up on 2012, there were many more cakes along the way and I am looking forward to lots more next year.
I'll be starting 2013 with an exclusive offer for all bookings taken in January. If you have a special event to celebrate check back tomorrow for more details!

Thank you once again to everyone who has helped get Oh Sugar Cake Company off the ground this year. I've had support from my amazing family, fantastic friends and wonderful new customers. This is one of my dreams coming true, thank you for helping to make it happen! xx